The New Orleans Saints and free agent cornerback Keenan
Lewis agreed on a five-year contract Thursday afternoon worth $26.3 million with $10.5 million in guarantees, including a $6 million signing bonus.

Lewis, a 26-year-old New Orleans native who prepped at O.P. Walker, is
the first free agent from another team to sign with the Saints during the free
agency period, which began Tuesday.

A former third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Oregon State, Lewis spent
his first three seasons in a reserve role before breaking into the starting
lineup in 2012 and turning in a standout season.

In an offseason in which the Saints had limited cap room, Lewis, who'll have a base salary of $1 million in 2013, is expected to have a cap number of about $2.2 million.

"He was a top free agent target for us and I know that he is very excited to be able to come home to play football," Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said in a news release from the team.

Although the 6-foot, 200-pound Lewis didn't have an
interception last season, he ranked among the NFL's top cornerbacks,
breaking up a league-best 23 passes. Lewis had 71 tackles and a forced fumble.
Last season, Lewis allowed a completion rate of just 52.7 percent and gave up just three touchdowns.

"Having grown up here I understand the passion that the fans have for the Saints and I'm blessed to be able to have the chance to play in front of them here in the future," Lewis said in the Saints' release. "I had a great visit with the Saints and am thankful for the time I spent with the Pittsburgh Steelers and wish them continued success."

Hometown discount

As one of the top cornerbacks available in free agency, Lewis had teams lined up to court him for his services. Lewis had visits set up with the San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Titans and the Philadelphia Eagles.

But not long into his meeting with the Saints, Lewis knew he no longer needed his travel itinerary.

Lewis, who played last season under a $1.26 million tender, gave the Saints a bit of a hometown discount.

"Those guys were trying to offer more money, but I had it
set in my mind the whole time if the Saints offered me I was going to come
home. I had to get it done," Lewis said. "I looked at it like I'm home. I'm from Algiers. I went to
O.P. Walker. A lot of guys don't really have that opportunity to play for their
hometown team. Then when I had the opportunity to sit down with Sean Payton,
Mickey Loomis, Rob Ryan and my position coach, (Wesley) McGriff, they really made me feel
at home. And that's something I had in Pittsburgh.

"When I first walked in there I felt like I was at home. I
had opportunities to go to teams that offered me a lot more money. But
everybody can't say that they had the opportunity to play in their back yard.
Even when I was in Pittsburgh I would go back and watch four or five Saints
games just to get acquainted with what they were doing."

Lewis' affinity for the Saints almost cost him on draft day.

"I almost didn't get drafted because I told all the teams my
wish was to play for the Saints," he said. "I let that be known when I was coming out of
college at the Senior Bowl."

Lewis' deal in New Orleans comes just two days after his close friend Mike Wallace, who was a teammate at O.P. Walker and the Steelers, signed a five-year, $60 million contract with the Miami Dolphins.

"I'm happy for both Keenan and Mike," said Lewis' and Wallace's former high school coach, Terry Wilson, who is now an assistant at McDonogh 35 and runs the Gulf Coast Sports Academy. "They've both worked hard and they deserve everything they've got.

"The Saints are getting a great player in Keenan. He's someone that is going to buy into the Saints' system. Keenan will fit their system well because he is aggressive, he covers and he can tackle. The Saints are getting a smart, physical player who is a winner."

Cover corner

Along with finding adequate pass rushers, one of the Saints' primary needs this offseason was improving their personnel in the secondary, as the defense undergoes a switch from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 alignment under Ryan, starting his first year as the team's defensive coordinator.

Lewis appears to be a natural fit because he played in a 3-4 defense in Pittsburgh, although the Steelers played more zone defense than the Saints likely will under an aggressive play-caller like Ryan.

Lewis, though, said he'll have no trouble playing man-to-man defense and downplayed the theory that he is a zone cornerback.

"A lot of people say we just played zone defense in
Pittsburgh," Lewis said. "But that's a myth. The majority of the time our coverage might look
like a zone but it's a man-to-man type scheme.

"I can play both. I came from a college program at Oregon
State that was a man-to-man defense on every play, so I can play however Coach
wants me."

Lewis joins a New
Orleans secondary that struggled to defend the pass last season, as the Saints
ranked 31st in the league against the pass, yielding 292.6 yards per
game.

Lewis is
expected to join incumbent starting cornerbacks Jabari Greer and former
first-round pick Patrick Robinson. The Saints also have Corey White, a
fifth-round pick in 2012. It remains unclear what the Saints' plans are for unrestricted cornerback Elbert Mack, who was solid last season.

There is no reason, Lewis said, that the secondary can't show improvement this season.

"If you really look at the defense, they probably had an off
year last year," Lewis said. "But that's some of the same players they won the Super Bowl
with. Sean Payton went out and got a new defensive coordinator, which was a
plus for the team. He also brought in a new defensive backs coach. I believe
they have the pieces to the puzzle and great athletes all over the board.

"I know Coach Payton is fired up and ready to go. I believe
we are going to compete for a Super Bowl and win it."